Harold Lloyd: Comedy Royalty

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Lately, I’ve been watching heaps and gobs of old silent comedies and enjoying them profoundly. Most people know about Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, and they’re both absolutely phenomenal, but I have found myself most impressed by the work of Harold Lloyd. You’ve probably seen him once or twice; he’s the guy with the round glasses and smart suit. What he truly was the everyman, the personification of 1920s middle-class. His output mainly consisted of romantic comedies, but all of them had big, impressive stunt-based set pieces, all of which were performed by Mr. Lloyd himself.

His comedies are still hysterical today and a lot funnier than some of the garbage Hollywood turns out lately. If you get the chance, check out his films Safety Last and The Freshman. He deserves a lot more recognition than I think he gets. Just take a gander at this.

Amazing. In every sense of the word. You just don’t see stunts or performers like this anymore.
Now I’m jealous of all you who have silent movies to see on the big screen. They have a summer series in Columbus with live music but it isn’t enough for me.

There is a old theater here in Detroit that plays a lot of silent films with live music as well. I’d never been to the Redford Theater before last year but its incredible to go see silent films the way they were shown in the 20’s. Been kicking myself for missing out all these years

Couldn’t agree more. Say what you will about Los Angeles, but it is one of the few places in the world where you can regularly see movies from the silent era played on a big screen with live music… the very meaning of “timeless” entertainment.